'Women in Concert' concert and a day of luxury

A while ago I mentioned that I had joined a choir and would be performing in a concert on March 21st.  I promised a post-event post, so here it is.

Between my first enthusiastic post about my musical exploits and the day of the concert itself, I had begun seriously regretting the undertaking.  Rehearsals were held far away and cut into precious weekend sightseeing time.  I wouldn't have minded so much if the rehearsals had displayed any semblance of organisation (like, say, not having to wait for an hour for it to begin or getting there to find that most members of the choir either hadn't been informed of the rehearsal or hadn't turned up) or if there was any sense of improvement as the weeks wore on.  On one particularly frustrating occasion, Sapna and I spent the entirety of a rehearsal stuck in a traffic jam as a result of roadblocks, eventually arriving one and a half hours after we set off on the usually twenty minute journey.  On that day only, the rehearsal had started on time and had just finished when we arrived.

But, in much the same way as the wedding came together at the last minute, the concert turned out to be a success.  It was held at a beautiful five star hotel, the Gorkana Forest Resort, on the outer edge of Kathmandu Valley.  The concert was held outside, the stage set up under massive ancient trees.  The whole thing felt much more like a rock concert than I expected, with a high stage, impressive sound system, lack of seating and surprisingly vocal, cheering crowd (more so as the evening continued and bar stocks became increasingly diminished).  Here's a shot of Sapna performing her solo:

By the time the choir came on, last act of the night, everyone was exceedingly jolly.  It was quite clear that not everyone on stage was entirely sober but that just added to the fun.  I couldn't hear myself sing at all and therefore have no idea if I did so in tune.  Despite being entirely sober, with all the jollity around me I threw caution to the wind, belted in out and danced along with full gusto.  It was huge amounts of fun.  Rabi took the following photo on my camera.  It's not great but it's the best I have.  I'm second from the right.  For better pics, check out the gallery here.  

We stayed overnight at the resort and I spent Sunday making the most of the spa.  Delighted to have an opportunity to swim for the first time in months, I dived right in and, to my great surprise, swam 150 lengths, approximately 2250m, or double what I normally swim.  I seems that all those aerobics classes are paying off in terms of improved fitness and stamina.  I also had a message, a facial (only the second in my life) and enjoyed a few stints in the sauna and jacuzzi.  It was utterly indulgent.  It was only when I got back to Kathmandu that I reflected on the diversity of my week, starting at Khokana and ending at Gorkana, about as far apart on the spectrum as two places can be.